Let’s check out a RCA WV-98C “Senior VoltOhmyst”.
Monday, July 20, 2026 at 09:48:46
This unit is an example of a very common meter - the RCA (VIZ) Senior VoltOhmyst. These are everywhere, and I’ve had two others come across the bench in the last year, both of which were not recoverable. I suspect this one, while it probably works, has similar issues.
This is a generic multimeter that features two tubes, a 6AL5 rectifier, and a 12AU7 as the input amp to provide that high-impedance isolation. (This tube was missing when I got it, because people love 12AU7.) This unit is kind of unusual in that it is RCA branded, most of them I’ve seen were VIZ branded.
It’s in relatively good shape.
The back is a little beat up, and I had to cut that old grommet out to get the rest of the damaged power cord removed from the unit.
Inside, we find an OEM RCA battery. That’s cool.
This battery, of course, is for the ohms circuit.
It has a lovely (joke!) selenium rectifier at the top, next to the old-school RCA meatball.
The board was laid out by hand of course,
And the rest is all wire.
So, does it work?
Yes. Mostly. It’s way off in reading, and that’s because of something that’s typically wrong with these. It also has a sticky meter, which kind of negates any usefulness.
So what’s the “typically” on these?
Carbon film resistors. That’s what’s wrong. These were 1% when new, but have all drifted. Even if they have not, the minute you touch a neighbor to remove it, the values of the ones touching it will change. A lot.
So…I’m not sure I am going to do anything with this other than set it on a shelf for a display. I hate to do that, but it’s of limited use and has some fatal flaws. I probably should have kept the other ones I had, but … whatever.
Stay tuned, this one may show up when some backlog has been cleared. Who knows?
Next part of this series: Coming…maybe…who knows?